Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a process that can be used to make a 3D object. The 3D object may be based on a 3D model, such as a physical model or a virtual representation of a 3D model or object. The 3D object is usually printed using an additive process in which successive layers of material are laid down as either liquid or particle form by a controlling computer and instrumentation. For example, a 3D printer may deposit one or more thin layers of raw material, and a print of a 3D object gradually materializes as the layers are built up step by step. The amount of detail possible in a 3D print may be determined, among other things, by the thinness of the layers. A wide variety of types of raw materials may be employed to print a 3D object, such as synthetic resin, ceramic powder, metal, or even glass.
In general, the size and shape of 3D printers vary by manufacturer, intended purpose, and financial cost. Typically, 3D printers are self-contained devices used to create an object within a defined space of the 3D printer. Because of this limitation, smaller objects are generally created with a 3D printer, while larger objects are constructed outside of a 3D printer, using multiple smaller parts. As a result, in order to create a large 3D printed object, a sufficiently large 3D printer must currently be obtained and/or assembled in situ to print the entirety of the large object. Otherwise, the large object must be assembled piece-wise from smaller 3D printed objects. Very large 3D printers are generally bulky, cost-prohibitive, and inefficient or slow. Furthermore, a piece-wise assembled object introduces the risk of pieces failing to fit together due to variations during manufacturing or assembly, resulting in a weakened structure. Furthermore, an assembled structure must either be transported to a final site or built piece by piece at a final site.
In a separate technological area, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, can be defined as an aircraft without a human pilot aboard. Its flight is generally controlled either autonomously by onboard computers or by the remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle. Typical launch and recovery of a drone is usually by an automatic system or an external operator on the ground. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) broadly classifies drones into two categories: autonomous aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft. In general, drones vary in size and design depending, among other things, on an intended purpose of the drone. For example, some drones have military and special operation applications, while others are used in civil applications, such as policing and firefighting, and nonmilitary security work, such as inspection of power or pipelines, and still others are used for recreational purposes, among other purposes. To this extent, drones may be equipped with cameras and other tools for carrying out a specific application.
WIPO International Patent Application WO/2015/073322 discloses: “A robotic 3D printing system [that] has a six degree of freedom (DOF) robot that holds [a] platform on which [a] 3D part is built on. The system uses the dexterity of the 6 DOF robot to move and rotate the platform relative to [a] 3D printing head, which deposits the material on the platform. The system allows the part build in 3D directly with a simple printing head and depositing the material along the gravity direction. The 3D printing head is held by another robot or robots. The robot movement can be calibrated to improve the accuracy and efficiency for high precision 3D part printing.”
U.S. Patent Application 2014/0054817 discloses: “a 3-dimensional (3D) printing device with a column, a climber attached to the column, and a beam attached to the climber such that the rectangular beam can angularly rotate with respect to the column.” U.S. Patent Application 20140054817 further discloses in some embodiments that “a plurality of 3D printing devices may be networked together.”
U.S. Pat. No. 7,291,002 discloses: “sensors . . . used to monitor and control . . . functions, such as running diagnostic tests, performing cleaning of . . . printheads, refilling [a] build material dispenser assembly, cleaning [a] spreader assembly . . . .”
U.S. Patent Application 2014/0125767 discloses: “the use of a three-dimensional capture device that captures a plurality of three-dimensional images of an environment” to “build[ ] a three-dimensional composite scene.” U.S. Patent Application 20140125767 further discloses that “possible implementations include, but are by no means limited to . . . 3D capture hardware . . . mounted to an aerial drone such as a quadcopter”.
U.S. Patent Application 2014/0032034 discloses: “a delivery system having unmanned aerial delivery vehicles and a logistics network for control and monitoring. In certain embodiments, a ground station provides a location for interfacing between the delivery vehicles, packages carried by the vehicles and users. In certain embodiments, the delivery vehicles autonomously navigate from one ground station to another. In certain embodiments, the ground stations provide navigational aids that help the delivery vehicles locate the position of the ground station with increased accuracy.”
U.S. Patent Application 2004/0068415 discloses: “a multirobotic system comprised of automated mobile robotic vehicles (MRVs)”. “[A] network of MRV drones provides sensor information to a lead MRV, which calculates the distance to objects in the environment. By using a method of optic flow to map coordinates in spatial positions, MRVs establish mission priorities and work as a group to accomplish a mission.”